A man was shot dead during rival rallies between far-right groups and Black Lives Matter protesters in Denver on Saturday. The victim, who has not been identified, was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to his injuries a short time later, Denver police confirmed. The shooting is now being investigated as a homicide. Two male suspects were taken into custody right after the incident, but only one of them remained in custody on suspicion of involvement as of Saturday evening, Joe Montoya, the Denver police division chief of investigations, told local media. He said police could not yet confirm if the victim and suspect were protesters, but the shooting is thought to have stemmed from an altercation between the two parties. The shooting happened in the courtyard of the Denver Art Museum, not far from where hundreds of activists from the far-right and Black Lives Matter had been facing off in dueling demonstrations.Two guns and mace were found at the scene, Montoya said. > Update: This shooting is now being investigated as a Homicide. Updates will be posted as information comes available.> > — Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) October 10, 2020A video said to be taken from the scene at the time of the shooting captured the gunfire and the shooting in the distance. After a shot rang out, police officers could be seen rushing to the area as bystanders screamed in horror and yelled, “He’s got a gun!” A man could be seen lying on the ground as authorities handcuffed two other people nearby. > Potato video, but here is the person shooting the gun at the Denverprotests, and the scene after (Denver, CO) pic.twitter.com/N1FksCXWiW> > — Kitty Shackleford (@KittyLists) October 10, 2020The incident capped off a day of tensions in the city, after counter-protesters hosted a “BLM-Antifa Soup Drive” outside the Civic Center where right-wing groups had gathered for what was dubbed a “Patriot Muster.” Far-right militias appeared ready to do battle at the event, wielding shields and wearing helmets, but only isolated clashes and screaming matches were reported between the two sides until the gunfire erupted. A day before the event, the organizer of the Patriot Rally, John Tiegen did an interview with the Steffan Tubbs Show where he was quoted saying of the rally: “I’m not going in there to do violence, but I’m going to be prepared to do violence.”On Twitter, he called on participants to “be seen be heard loud and proud.” “Don’t let the communists, socialist party and groups intimidate or Oppress you any longer!” he wrote.Ahead of the rallies, the Denver Police Department said it would respect “the right to peacefully assemble” but urged those participating to “do so in a lawful manner.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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